A New Life
by clp66
Summary: Susan deals with major changes in her life and House's.
1. Chapter 1

_AN:_

_This story follows "Snowed In" and is the 9th story in the Susan Chronicals series. I started writing during the summer between season six and seven because while I loved the series, I always felt that there was a missing character. Susan is House's half sister from his biological father. Because I created her before we actually met the guy he thought was his father, this series pretends that character never really made an appearance. In the Susan Chronicals universe, House's biological father passed away several years before._

_Anyway, I've followed cannon throughout my writing, allowing Susan's life to be on the fringes of what was happening in the series. She's the character you never saw on the show, but operating in the background or between episodes. Rarely have broken into the show itself, but have found it necessary from time to time to show how Susan has dealt with certain issues that occurred in the show._

_This story is one of those times because as the series ends, for Susan's life to continue she needs to deal with what happened in the finale._

_Susan is 47 years old at this point and is hugely pregnant with her and David's son. I hope you enjoy how I worked her life into the finale and I would love to hear your opinion, good or bad._

_As usual, I do not own House or any of the characters on the show. I do own Susan, David, Laura, Phillip - and well, you'll figure out who else. :-)_

Chapter One:

Susan sat on the edge of her bed touching her hand to her expanded belly as she felt the baby move. It was still dark in the room. She swallowed the bile that had crept its way up to the back of her throat while she was laying down and got up to go to the kitchen, "You OK?" David's sleepy voice came from the darkness.

"Yes," Susan answered. "Just a little indigestion; I'm fine." She continued out the door and headed down the hall through the living room to the kitchen. She pulled out a glass from the cabinet and turned toward the refrigerator to get some ice water to cool the burning sensation in her throat and sat down at the table as she sipped the water. She sighed to herself and tears welled up in her eyes as her thoughts wandered to Dr. Wilson and Greg. Dr. Wilson had been diagnosed with stage 2 Thymoma, but was now terminal. When Greg first told her that Wilson had cancer, Susan had mentioned that at stage 2, it should be curable and Greg had readily agreed. But the problem with doctors when they get sick is that they know too much and Wilson had had a number of patients who should have been cured, who ended up dying so he went for a much more radical and dangerous dose of chemotherapy that he had opted to try alone. It was a good thing that Greg had discovered what he was doing as he would have treated himself at his own condo and been completely alone. At the same time, Greg should have put his foot down and forced Wilson to do the treatment at the hospital. What they had done was stupid and irresponsible and Wilson could have died right there in Greg's apartment. For all they went through though, the treatment didn't work and now Wilson was terminal. Susan couldn't help but wonder if the treatment itself was the culprit for accelerating the disease. He had five months to live without treatment or a couple of years if he went on a chemotherapy regimen. Wilson opted to not treat which sent Greg into a downward spiral. For all the outward show of strength Greg normally presented, he was incapable of handling loss. Unable to express his emotions he acted out as usual, his antics led to the flooding the basement of the hospital and damaging the MRI. He finally came to his senses and accepted Wilson's decision, but the damage had been done. He was headed back to jail. Susan's silent tears trailed down her face as she lay her head down on the table alone with her own quiet grief. She didn't even notice David's arrival as he sat in the chair next to her and put his arm around her.

"Hey," he said as he drew her closer and put her head on his shoulder. Susan wrapped her arms around him as the tears continued to stream quietly down her face. "Sweetheart, come back to bed. You need to rest," he said softly after several minutes.

"Would you get me some antacids please?" Susan asked as she wiped her eyes. David got up and went over to the cabinet and pulled out one of the many bottles of antacids that Susan had strategically placed all over the house as her pregnancy progressed. She was only a few weeks away from delivery and indigestion was a common visitor at this stage. The news of Wilson's illness coupled and Greg's reaction to it increased her stress level and as usual she'd nearly quit eating which only exacerbated the indigestion and acid reflux issues.

David handed her the medicine and gently pulled her to her feet. He put his arm around her waist and led her back to the bedroom. Once in the bedroom, he fluffed their pillows and propped them against the headboard knowing she wouldn't be able to lay back down flat for a while. She got into bed and he walked around the other side and got in. He moved over to her, also in an inclined position and pulled her to him so that she was resting with her head on his shoulder, "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine," she said as she shook her head and just lay in his arms. David held her that way while her breathing eventually evened out as she fell asleep. Staring into the darkness of the room, David silently cursed at House for putting his wife through emotional turmoil yet again. He was so selfish in his behavior - it was always all about him and his needs. He never put anybody else first. He kissed his wife on her forehead as he saw movement under her nightgown. Their son, they still hadn't fully named him yet, was very active tonight. He laid his hand over the movement and quietly whispered, "Go to sleep baby, your mama needs to rest." Eventually David drifted off to sleep with his head leaned against Susan's.

MDMDMDMDMD

Phillip quietly walked downstairs to his parent's room. Their door was open, so he knew it was OK to enter. Dad had installed a new vent cover in his floor that made it where he couldn't hear or look to see if they were awake anymore so he had to go downstairs to check. He walked in their room. Dad was still asleep, but mom was missing. He heard the toilet flush and then the water turn on in the shower. "Dad?" Phillip said.

David turned over and opened his eyes, squinting against the light coming through the window, "Yes son"

"I think you forgot to set your alarm," Phillip said. "You didn't come wake me up."

"No, I turned it off," David said. "We're taking the day off today. Susan didn't sleep well last night so we decided to call in. She has an appointment with her obstetrician today anyway."

"What about school?" Phillip asked.

"You're taking the day off too," David explained. "We're going to have a family day today. I'll call the school and get your homework assignments so you'll be caught up when you go back tomorrow."

"Sweet," Phillip said and rushed out the door and bounded upstairs to get dressed for the day. He wondered what all they were going to do, but decided it didn't matter. Any excuse to miss school was fine with him. He hadn't missed any school except for when he was in the hospital and it was getting close to the end of the school year, so the teachers weren't assigning so much homework right now anyway. He doubted he would miss much. Suddenly he thought of Jerrod and ran back downstairs to the phone. He dialed Jerrod's number and asked for him when his stepmom answered the phone.

"What do you mean you won't be at school today?" Jerrod asked. "You don't sound sick."

"I'm playing hooky," Phillip explained.

"Your parents won't let you do that," Jerrod argued.

"My parents are playing hooky too," Phillip said.

"Really? Your parents are _so_ awesome," Jerrod said. "I wish my parents would let me skip school."

"I bet if you worked harder and got your grades up, your parents would let you. You have to earn rewards you know," Phillip explained.

Susan walked in the front room as she was headed to the kitchen to make breakfast and heard the last statement Phillip made to Jerrod as she passed through. She smiled to herself. He was such a good kid and growing up so fast. She knew he would make a good big brother. Her face quickly sobered as she thought of her own big brother and wondered how he was doing today. He was his own worst enemy always pushing the people that care about him away and acting out when he didn't know how to deal with emotions. The Colonel had done a number on him growing up. All that military toughness drilled into him from the time he was little did nothing to teach him how to deal with the day to day issues of normal life. People lived and people died and yes it was especially painful when those closest to you died - Susan had dealt with plenty of that in her life; first her mother's suicide, then her father's death followed shortly by Jeff's. She'd even lost her best friend to a drunk driver when she was a teenager. Everybody dies; it's part of life. How you deal with it says what kind of person you are and for all his intelligence, Susan wished that her brother had even half of the maturity that her twelve year old had.

Phillip walked in the kitchen having finished his conversation with Jerrod, "What's for breakfast?""Oatmeal," Susan answered.

Phillip turned his face up, "I don't want oatmeal," he said.

"Too bad," David said as he entered the kitchen. "How can I help?" he asked Susan. Susan asked him to pull out the bacon and prepare one slice for Phillip and however many he wanted. David glanced at her, but didn't say anything as he went to the refrigerator to do what she asked. Susan continued preparing the oatmeal in silence as David placed the bacon on the microwave plate.

It wasn't long before breakfast was ready and the family sat down together to eat. David asked the blessing and Susan dished out the oatmeal for everybody. Phillip stared at the concoction in his bowl and grimaced. Sighing heavily he picked up his spoon and took a bite. His eyes opened wide with surprise and suddenly he was much more interested in his breakfast. Susan smirked to herself when she saw his reaction and dished out a couple tablespoons of oatmeal in her bowl. "You're eating more than that," David said.

"I'm not really hungry," Susan said.

"Don't care," David said as he put two slices of bacon on her plate.

"I didn't want any bacon," Susan said.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Phillip; 'too bad'," David replied.

Susan glared at him, "You're not my father."

"No, but I am your husband and the baby's father and I love you; you're stressed and not eating and you need to eat. You're going to make yourself sick and you know it," David said.

"I haven't stopped eating; I'm just not very hungry right now" Susan argued but picked up a slice of bacon anyway and started chewing having decided it wasn't worth arguing about. David watched her with a little more satisfaction as she finished the slice and started eating her oatmeal.

Phillip had stopped eating during his parents' discourse and put his spoon down, "Are you guys going to get a divorce?"

"No," Susan and David said in unison. "Why would you think that?" David continued.

"Because you're fighting again," Phillip said. "Jerrod said that when his parents started arguing a lot, that was when they got a divorce."

"I thought you learned your lesson about listening to Jerrod," Susan said.

"He was just talking about what happened, he wasn't trying to give me advice," Phillip explained.

"Son, two people cannot live together without there being a few disagreements along the way. It's part of getting to know each other and where they stand on certain issues. Besides, we're not fighting I'm just…."

"Being over-protective again," Susan interrupted.

David looked over at Susan, "Protective - not overprotective. There is nothing wrong with me wanting you to take care of yourself and you know that when you get stressed, you quit eating. It's not just you in that body, you have a baby to take care of in there too."

"My stomach hurts," Susan said. "I just don't want to eat."

David let the subject drop for the moment and finished his meal. Phillip started to lift his spoon up to his face, but stopped half way, "I…. never mind."

"Finish what you were going to say," Susan said.

"I love you," he deflected.

"I love you too, but that's not what you were going to say," Susan said.

Phillip sighed, "I just…..I don't want anything to happen. I like having a mom."

"Especially one that makes good oatmeal," Susan teased.

"Yeah," Phillip answered with a grin, "especially that."

Susan smiled, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." She reached over to David and squeezed his hand before she got up from the table. "I need to get ready to go to the doctor. You take care of the dishes Phillip."

"Yes ma'am," Phillip said.

MDMDMDMD

Susan was stripped down to her underclothes and was looking at herself in the mirror. She was covered in stretch marks despite all the lotions she had used throughout the pregnancy. Part of her really didn't understand as she had not really gotten too many when she carried Laura, but then again this little boy was already bigger than Laura was when she was born and Susan still had several weeks to go. David walked in the room and saw his wife examining her profile. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her and looked at her figure with her, "Hey beautiful," he said.

"You don't need to lie," Susan said.

"I'm not," David said.

"I look horrible," Susan countered.

"Not to me you don't," he said. He released her from his arms and started massaging her back just below the shoulder blades where her muscles always cramped from carrying the extra weight in front. Susan closed her eyes and leaned back into his hands to increase the pressure.

"I'm sorry," she said after a minute. "I know you're right. Wilson lectured me for the same thing back when Greg and Cuddy broke up and I was so worried about him. I know Greg put him up to it."

"Probably," David acknowledged but didn't go any further.

"That 'probably' was loaded," Susan said. "Say what's on your mind."

"It's not important," David answered.

"If it's on your mind, it's important."

"It amazes me how much your brother cares about you, but then does things that he knows will hurt you," David said after a moment's hesitation.

"He's not thinking about that when he does things," Susan defended.

"Of course he's not; because he is the most self-centered person I've ever seen," David said.

"I'm not going to argue that point, he is self-centered. He's been alone his entire life; even growing up as a kid he was alone. The only real friend he's ever had is Wilson and now Wilson is dying. Greg didn't grow up in a normal household, he has no concept how to process emotion and so he pushes away the people that care about him because he doesn't want to deal with the pain of losing them. Wilson is the only person he's let get close to him in the last twenty years and now he's getting ready to lose him. He just doesn't know how to react," Susan explained.

"What about you?" David asked.

"I'm important to him too, but even I'm not in the ranks with Wilson," Susan said, "I am family, but I haven't been with him all that long. All Greg can think about right now is losing his best friend. He can't process anything else - and that includes me."

"Doesn't that bother you?" David asked.

"I suppose it should, but no," Susan answered.

"And you are by far the least self-centered person I know," David observed. "It's amazing you two even came from the same gene pool."

"Shows you how much role environment plays," Susan answered. "Besides we only share half a gene pool. Different moms remember?" Susan walked in her closet to pick out an outfit and came back into the room. "If he'd been raised by Dad instead of the Colonel, he'd be handling this completely differently."

"You mean, stressing himself with worry to the point that he quit eating," David pointed out.

Susan looked at him through the top of her eyes as she was bent over to put on her pants, "Which is a heck of a lot better than stuffing season tickets down a toilet to prove a point to Foreman and ultimately resulting in clogging the entire plumbing system of the hospital, flooding the basement and damaging the MRI. At least my reaction only affects me."

"And the baby," David added.

"The baby will continue to get what it needs; taking it from my body if he has to, but it hasn't gotten that far. I'm OK David. I haven't stopped eating entirely and I'm still taking my vitamins and extra calcium every day."

Susan sat down on the edge of the bed and handed David her shoes. He knelt down to the floor and put her shoes on her feet. "All set," he said. He pulled Susan to her feet and walked with her out of the room.

"Phillip, are you ready to go?" Susan asked when they entered the living room.

"Yep," he said looking up from his video game. He saved his spot and turned it off before shoving it in his pocket.

The three of them headed to the front door, when Susan stopped suddenly. David turned around, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Susan said. She walked up to David and put her arms around his neck and gently drew him down to her. David grinned knowing what she was up to and proceeded to kiss her passionately.

Sure enough it wasn't many seconds before they both heard a big sigh followed by, "Kissing again? You guys are always kissing."

They broke apart and held each other for a moment, "The best part of a disagreement is making up," David said looking at his son.

"You say so," Phillip said with exasperation as he turned and walked out the door. "Gross," they heard him say as he made his way to the car.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

"Well, the baby's turned," Dr. Anderson said as she examined Susan. David was standing next to Susan's head and Phillip was sitting in the waiting room playing on his game system while he waited for his parents to come out.

"Good," Susan said. "I'd rather not go through a surprise breech again. It's really OK to have a natural delivery after having had a C-section?"

"If your caesarean had been performed with a vertical incision, then no; but your doctor performed the procedure with a horizontal incision and it's been twenty years since your daughter was born, so you're very well healed and can deliver naturally. However, a C-section isn't out of the question due to your age and hypertension. We're going to be watching you very closely and if you, or the baby, go into distress we'll take the baby that way," she explained. The doctor pulled the ultrasound machine closer, "I want to get one more look by ultrasound," she said, "but this should be the last time before you deliver."

Susan glanced up at David, "Would you go get Phillip?" she asked.

David smiled at her; "Sure," he said and left the room.

A minute later Phillip walked in the room with David. Susan's belly was exposed and the doctor had just put the gel on her stomach. Phillip saw Susan's stomach exposed and turned red, "It's OK Phillip, it's just my tummy," Susan said. "Come over on this side so you can see the monitor better," she said pointing to the same side the doctor was on.

Phillip moved over quietly and the doctor shifted the monitor so he could see as she started the ultrasound. Moving the wand from place to place, the doctor explained what she was looking at and why to Phillip as he watched the monitor. "Is he sucking his thumb?" Phillip asked.

"Yes," the doctor said and snapped a photo at that spot. When it printed, she handed it to Phillip who stared at it for a moment. "How much longer?"

"The due date is three weeks away, but I'm guessing he'll arrive a little sooner than that," she said as she looked at Susan. "Everything looks fine," she continued as she wiped the gel off of Susan's belly. David helped Susan re-adjust her clothing and sit back up. "However, I notice that your weight has actually dropped three pounds since last week."

"I haven't been too hungry recently," Susan replied specifically not spelling out the reason why. David on the other hand volunteered a little more information telling Dr. Anderson that Susan had been under a bit of stress recently and she tended not to eat when she was upset. Susan glared at David out of the corner of her eye, but didn't say anything.

"Well, whatever the reason is, I want you to eat. We like women to gain 30 pounds during their pregnancy and you've only gained 24. The baby is healthy, but if you continue not to eat you'll lose more weight and that won't be healthy for you. You need your strength," she explained.

Susan nodded her head in acknowledgement, "Additionally," the doctor continued, "I think it's time to stop working. I'll write you a note for Dr. Foreman."

"I really need a couple more days" Susan said. "I have a few more details to work out before I'm gone for so long."

"A couple more days are fine, but no more. You need a more relaxing atmosphere. You obviously don't respond to stress well and I want you eating," Dr. Anderson replied as she wrote the note. She handed it to Susan and moved on to her next patient.

"You didn't have to tell her that," Susan told David as they left the obstetrics suite and headed toward the lobby of the hospital.

"I think she needed to know that you've been stressed out," David said.

"All pregnant women get stressed out toward the end," Susan replied.

"I'm sure they do, but not every pregnant woman has Greg House for a brother," David said.

"What wrong with Uncle Greg?" Phillip asked.

"He's feeling loss and he doesn't know how to deal with it," Susan explained.

"I don't understand," Phillip said.

"Phillip, Dr. Wilson is dying of cancer and only has five months to live and so Greg is losing his best and only true friend."

"Gosh, that's sad," Phillip said. "I like Dr. Wilson."

"So do I," Susan said.

The family entered the lobby and as they started past Dr. Foreman's office, they noticed House was talking to Foreman as the latter was on the floor messing with the side table. Susan stopped to watch, they were arguing back and forth and then walked out of the office. House glanced over at Susan as they passed on their way to the elevator, "….be a friend," he was saying. Whatever House wanted Foreman to agree to, he did and House got on the elevator. He glanced over at Susan as the door shut in front of him.

"I'm surprised he's still here," David said.

"He's probably gotten a stay until he diagnoses his current patient," Susan replied.

"Stay for what?" Phillip asked.

"His parole officer is sending him back to jail to finish his sentence," Susan said.

"Why?"

"For doing something stupid," David said ending the conversation as he noted the worry lines appearing on Susan's face again. He ushered his family out of the hospital.

The rest of the day was spent in relaxation as David took his family out to a nice restaurant, where Susan ate enough food to satisfy David, followed by a trip to the park. David opened the trunk and pulled out a skateboard and helmet with knee and elbow pads and handed them to Phillip, "Here - go have fun," he said.

"Sweet!" Phillip said and raced to the skate park. David smiled after him and reached back in the trunk for a blanket and handed that to Susan.

"You've planned this day down to the minute," Susan said.

"Yep; rest and relaxation is the prescription for the day," David said pulling out a cooler with drinks.

Susan looked over at Phillip who had already put on his protective equipment and was launching himself on the skate park, "You better grab the first aid kit too," she said prophetically.

The couple walked across the park lawn, not far from the skate park where they could watch Phillip as he skated up one side and down the other across numerous hills and valleys made just for the purpose. David spread out the blanket on a gently sloping area and helped Susan to the ground. He sat next to her with his arm behind giving her a little support. Nothing was said as they sat together watching Phillip get braver as he continued skating. Phillip sped up and when he reached the top of the side closest to him, he tried to jump over the edge, but fell backwards. David perked up ready to run over, but Susan held him back, "Hang on a sec," she said. A few moments later, they saw Phillip's head above the edge of the half pipe section as he got back up and started again.

"He fell pretty hard," David said. "I was afraid he'd hurt himself."

"I imagine it knocked the wind out of him," Susan said. "He seems fine though." Phillip started his run again, but a little slower and without trying any fancy tricks as he gradually worked up his nerve again. "He'll get it figured out, but he's going to fall a few times along the way."

"Very profound oh wise one," David teased. Susan smiled, laid back and put one arm behind her head and closed her eyes. David leaned back facing her, propped up on his elbow. Susan grimaced and put her other hand on her belly. "You OK?" David asked as he put his hand next to hers. "Wow," he said when he felt the contraction harden her belly, "Are you starting labor?"

"No, it's just Braxton hicks. I'm fine," she said. "They're getting more frequent and a little stronger as the days go." David leaned down to kiss Susan's neck in just the right spot which earned him a contended sigh.

"Behavior like that is what got her in that condition to begin with," said a voice as a shadow crossed the couple. House sat down next to Susan on the blanket, "You've lost weight," he observed.

"Just three pounds; I'm ok," Susan replied.

David didn't say anything, but the look on his face was enough to convey the message to House, "You think it's my fault," House said looking at him.

"It is," David said. "You know how she reacts when she worries."

House looked from David to Susan, "There's nothing for you to worry about."

"You've been acting out ever since you found out that Wilson is forgoing treatment for his cancer and now you're going back to jail; sure, what's not to worry about," Susan said with exasperated sarcasm.

"I'm not going back to jail," House said. "At least not until after…," his voice trailed off as his eyes became distant.

Susan sat up with some difficulty and reached over to hold his hand, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault; you have nothing to be sorry for," House said quietly.

"It's nobody's fault, it just happens," Susan said. "I meant I'm sorry you're hurting."

"When's Laura coming home?" House asked changing the subject but still holding Susan's hand finding comfort in her touch.

"This weekend," David said. "She has three finals left and then she'll be home for the summer; just in time for this one."

"No name yet," House observed.

"Just the middle name," Susan said. "We haven't decided on the first name yet."

"Better figure it out, you're running out of time," he said

At that moment, Phillip's voice cried out from the skate park, "Uncle Greg! Watch this!" Phillip took off from the top of the half pipe, disappeared as he reached the bottom and suddenly burst into view as he glided to the top of the closest side and hopped over the edge on the top. He bounced off his skateboard, picked it up and ran to the adults, "Did you see me?" he asked panting when he got over to where they were.

"You're going to break your neck," House said without much emotion, but Susan could see the amusement in his eyes. As Phillip sat down House pulled him closer and looked at his elbow, "Why aren't you wearing elbow pads?" he asked examining the cut on his arm.

"I took them off," Phillip said. "I don't like the way they feel."

"Son!", "Phillip!" David and Susan exclaimed at the same time.

House reached over to the first-aid kit and got what he needed to clean the wound and look it over, "Your dad bought them for you for a reason," House admonished as he washed out the cut, "and if you'd worn them like you were supposed to, you wouldn't need stiches right now. Come on," he said getting up and leading Phillip to his car. He looked over at Susan and David who were starting to get up to follow, "Just sit tight, I'll bring him back when we're done."

David and Susan sat back down, "When do you suppose he did that?" David asked as he watched the older man walk away with his son.

"Sometime after we saw the first fall; he had them on then."

"You would think he would have hollered out or something."

"Probably didn't feel it," Susan said. "Adrenaline tends to mask pain." Susan lay back again, "Don't worry about him, Greg will take care of him."

"I know; I'm not worried about Phillip," David said. "I just wish House would do a better job taking care of himself, so you wouldn't get so worked up over him."

"He'll be okay too, eventually," Susan said. "He's taken a big step accepting Wilson's decision. He has five months to come to grips with his death."

"Then why do you worry about him?" David asked.

"I can't stop worrying about him any more than you can turn off your protective nature towards me; he's my brother; besides, he doesn't have anybody else."

"And if anything happens to him, you have me," David said. "Don't ever feel like you can't talk to me about how you feel."

"I know, but nothing is going to happen to him," Susan told herself more than David but her stomach tightened with fear at the same time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

"Ow!" Phillip exclaimed as House disinfected the wound on his elbow, "That stings!"

"Oh hush," House answered. "It's your own fault." He let go of Phillip's elbow and went over to the counter and opened a drawer to pull out a syringe and a vial of lidocaine.

"What's that for?" Phillip asked his eyes widening at the sight of the syringe.

"It's to numb your elbow unless you want me to stitch it without numbing it first," House answered.

"No, that's ok," Phillip said.

House made the necessary injections and waited for the medication to kick in while he gathered the supplies he needed to stitch the wound. He tapped around the gash, "feel that?"

"No."

Satisfied House slipped on his reading glasses and started stitching.

"Mom says you have to go back to jail," Phillip said.

"Not if I can help it," House said.

"Are you going to run away again?" Phillip asked.

"No."

Phillip was quiet for a few moments as House stitched, "How are you going to stay out of jail?"

"I have a patient," House answered.

"That's not going to last a long time," Phillip said.

"Then I'll get another patient."

Phillip watched House as he worked, "Is it hard being a doctor?"

"Not for me," House said.

"Do you like it?"

"I like the puzzle."

"You think people are puzzles?"

"You ask too many questions," House said as he finished the last stitch, "Come on."

House left the mess behind and walked out the door with Phillip following close behind, "Dr. House?" the nurse asked stopping House in his tracks. "We have a patient in exam room two that really needs to be seen."

House looked at Phillip and then back at the nurse and sighed. He held out his hand for the patient file, snatched it out of the nurses hand and looked at Phillip, "Come watch the master at work," and disappeared into exam room two with Phillip right on his heels.

The nurse watched them walk into the room and shook her head, "Jerk," she said to herself as she entered exam room one to clean up the mess left behind.

MDMDMDMDMDMD

Wilson sat at his desk writing up a summary of treatment report for his youngest patient. The child had a very aggressive tumor that had not responded to treatment. The parents were devastated by the news that the last round of chemotherapy had not had any positive effect. He had explained to the parents this morning that any further treatment would do nothing but make the last days of his life miserable and that the best thing for him at this point was for them to take him home and enjoy the time they had left. They thanked him when they left, so as per their standing bet, House owed him another $10; though this would be the last one. The remainder of his patients had more positive outlooks and he was transferring them to other members of his staff in the oncology department. He paused in his typing as he thought of his own situation and the impact of that on House. House had finally accepted Wilson's decision to not treat his cancer and he wanted to spend the last five months of his life enjoying it, not worrying about his best friend being in jail. He knew House was trying everything to stay out of jail, but Wilson wasn't sure that anything would work. Wilson sighed and continued working on his report. He wanted to finish this and leave for the afternoon. He still had some arrangements to make with his attorney.

MDMDMDMDMDMD

Phillip hopped out of House's car and ran over to where his parents were seated at the park having a quiet conversation, "Guess what?!" he asked.

"I can't imagine," Susan said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Uncle Greg let me watch him diagnose a patient," he said excitedly.

"Really," David said with some surprise.

"What did you think?" Susan asked.

"That the patient was stupid, but I didn't say so," Phillip said. "But then Uncle Greg called him an idiot and he got mad and left without even getting his prescription."

"What was wrong with him?" David asked.

"He had poison ivy," Phillip said. "Even I knew what it was and I told Uncle Greg that and he said that was because I was less of a moron than most everybody else."

"He called you a moron?" David asked.

"He always calls me a moron dad, it's OK," Phillip explained.

"Just how is calling you a moron OK?" David asked.

Susan leaned back against the tree and smiled as she listened to the exchange. Phillip looked over at her and saw her smiling, "You understand, don't you?"

"Yes," Susan said.

"Care to enlighten?" David asked.

"Later," Susan said as House finally made it to where the others were sitting. "Let me see your stitches," Susan said addressing Phillip. Phillip showed her his elbow, "Nice job," she said glancing over at House as he sat down.

"Did you expect anything less?" House asked.

Susan leaned back against the tree again, "Well, the ego is intact."

MDMDMDMDMD

Wilson logged out of his computer and stood up. He stretch and then walked out his door grabbing his jacket on the way out. He walked over to House's office. House wasn't at his desk, so he opened the door to the conference room, "Anyone know where House is?"

A collective set of no's and shaking of heads answered Wilson, so he shut the door and left. He made his way to the elevator and down to the first floor. Once there, he glanced in the clinic although he knew better than to look there. House only voluntarily goes to the clinic when it is in his best interest. He moved across the lobby to Foreman's office who was sitting at this desk dealing with paperwork. He went inside, "Have you seen House?"

"Not in several hours," Foreman said.

"When are they going to take him back to jail?" Wilson asked.

"I was able to get a stay until he is finished with his patients," Foreman said.

"Patients, as in plural?"

"He has eight," Foreman answered.

"I think that's a House record," Wilson said. "Ten bucks says he drops seven of them by tomorrow morning."

"Not if he wants to stay out of jail," Foreman said.

"You know, that threat is really getting old," Wilson said.

"It's not a threat Wilson, I was lucky the judge listened to me this time, he won't make an exception again. He's headed back to jail."

"Not if I can help it," Wilson said. "The evidence is circumstantial. Anybody could have taken those tickets and flushed them."

"He did it and you know it. He even admitted it to me this morning."

"But he didn't admit it to the judge. Foreman, you've got to do better. He's my best friend; I need him here, not passing time in jail for something that should be punishable by a hefty fine. Leave jail for the real criminals, not practical jokers."

"I've done everything I can Wilson," Foreman said. "I'm sorry."

"You haven't done enough," Wilson said as he walked out the door.

Half way across the parking garage to his car Wilson's phone rang, "Where have you been?" he asked when he saw the caller ID.

"Not important," House said. "Hungry?"

"Sure," Wilson said.

"Come to Susan's," House said.

"What's she fixing?" Wilson asked.

"Does it matter?"

"No, I was just curious," Wilson said. "I'll be there after I go home to change." Wilson hung up the phone and proceeded to his car. It'd been a few months since he'd been to Susan and David's for dinner. She'd invited him to dinner several times before she married David and a couple of times afterwards while House was still incarcerated. Wilson had even contemplated asking her out before she married, but it was clear how much she was in love with David and that there was no way she would ever think of Wilson as anything more as a friend. Wilson had accepted that and actually enjoyed his friendship with her even if he was at odds with House at the time. In fact, he realized now, that while she had befriended him she had also been subtly working on him to forgive House for his behavior and breaking his arm. She knew that when House did finally get out of prison, he would need him. While he would have forgiven him eventually, he'd come to terms with House much faster with her influence. He walked inside his condo and headed toward his room to change. As he did so, his eyes fell on the organ he had purchased for House while they were living together. He needed to make sure that House got the organ. He'd probably leave the condo to him as well for him to either sell or live in if he wanted. His folks didn't need it and his brother was still living in the psychiatric facility. There were so many things to think about and do and he wanted to get everything done quickly and enjoy the time he had left. Of course, he wasn't sure how much fun anything would be without House. He shook his head and sighed at the situation and proceeded to change for dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The night supervisor leaned in to the computer screen from his position standing behind Susan at her desk as she pointed at a particular column, "Here is where I calculate the productivity for each department..." she was saying when Foreman stuck his head in the door.

"Susan, have you seen House?" he asked.

"Not since last night," she answered.

Foreman nodded and left. "Does Dr. House really have to go back to jail?" the supervisor asked.

"He's working on trying to stay out," Susan said, "Now here is where I break it down to tests/hour," she continued obviously switching back to the original topic. The supervisor got the message and tried to concentrate on one of about fifteen million reports he would have to do while Susan was on maternity leave. He hoped she wouldn't stay out long, as he was really not looking forward to doing her work. He didn't mind being a supervisor, but working as the lab director was really not his cup of tea.

"Ed?" he heard Susan say as he snapped back to attention.

"Sorry," he said, "I was just thinking that I hope you don't stay out too long. This is going to be a real pain."

"Pain or not, it has to be done," Susan answered. "All of this data is utilized to set our budget for the next year. This is where we show them where we need to add employees and equipment and what tests we do that need to be dropped or if we should add more."

"How long are you planning on staying out?" he asked.

"I haven't decided yet," Susan said putting him off for the time being. "Now, this next report…."

MDMDMDMD

From around the corner House watched Foreman poke his head in Susan's office and then head in the opposite direction. He'd dumped seven of his eight patients and didn't want to talk to Foreman about it. He wasn't worried about the patients, any monkey would be able to diagnose and treat them, and so he left them for a monkey to diagnose and treat. He kept the one patient that was interesting to him, a drug addict that truly did have something else wrong with him. What was also interesting to him was that this particular drug addict didn't do the normal song and dance about wanting to get clean. This guy readily admitted that he enjoyed being an addict and planned on continuing his behavior. Truthfulness was not the usual pattern for a drug addict and he wasn't convinced that it wasn't related to his illness.

When the coast was clear, House walked down the hall to Susan's office. She was trying to explain her spreadsheets to the night supervisor who was obviously not really interested. He walked in and flopped down onto the couch.

"Foreman's looking for you," Susan said as he landed.

"I know. I'm not looking for him," he answered.

"Ed, why don't you go on home, we'll finish this up tomorrow morning," Susan said.

With a sigh of relief, the supervisor dismissed himself and headed out the door.

"Tomorrow's your last day," House said.

"Yes," Susan said.

"He has no intention of doing those reports," House said.

"I know, his eyes started glazing over the minute I opened the first one," Susan said. "It's not hard…," she started.

"But it's boring," House explained.

"Yes, it is that. I don't particularly enjoy it either, but it has to be done if we want a reasonable budget next year," Susan said. "So why are you hiding from Foreman?"

House shrugged, "Not important."

"You haven't done anything else to get in trouble have you?" Susan asked.

House shook his head. "I'm hungry."

"Well, then I guess we should do something about that," Susan said getting up from her chair. As she stood, another contraction hit. She paused, leaning on her desk as the pain abated.

"That was pretty strong for a Braxton Hicks, you're not going to make it another three weeks," House said when the contraction let up.

"That would be OK with me," Susan said with an exhale. "I'm tired and would welcome an early delivery. The baby should be fully developed by now."

"Close enough not to need incubator time anyway," House said as he ushered her out the door. "Although he would likely be a bit jaundiced."

The two were headed toward the cafeteria when Foreman came back toward Susan's office and saw brother and sister walking down the hall talking quietly together. He started to call out to House, but hesitated when he saw House smile down at his sister from something she had said. He needed to confront him about his abandoned seven patients and his one remaining patient who was ready to be released, but decided to wait. _Let him enjoy his freedom while he has it, _he thought to himself, _I'll catch him later._

MDMDMDMDMDMDMD

David opened the door to the house and walked inside. His classes were finished for the day and he didn't feel like spending the afternoon in his office. He didn't want to disturb Susan as he knew she was trying to wrap up a few things at the office before her maternity leave started, so he came home. He set his keys on the coffee table and moved into the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator to peruse through the leftovers. Making his selection, he prepared his plate and took it to the living room and sat down on the couch. He started to pick up the remote when he noticed Susan's laptop on the table. He took a bite of his sandwich and reached for her laptop instead. Opening it, he set his plate aside and logged into her computer. He reached down and took another bite of sandwich while he waited for it to boot up. Soon he was browsing through her computer files until he found the document labeled 'names'. Susan was leaving the first name up to him. She'd asked if it was ok with him to name his middle name after her brother and he'd agreed that it would be fine, but she felt that it was only fair that he decide on the first name. The problem was that the name he wanted to use was based on a tradition he started with Marie when they decided on Phillip's name. It wouldn't be right to continue that tradition with Susan. He looked through her list of names; the one he was thinking about wasn't in her list, so obviously she hadn't even considered it. He scrolled down seeing that she had crossed through several of them before she had re-assigned the task to him. Finally he got to the bottom of the list. He really wasn't fond of any of these names. If only he could open his mind to other possibilities. He started to close the file when he realized he wasn't quite to the bottom of the page. He scrolled down a little further and saw 'William'. Now that was interesting. Why was this name at the very bottom of the page instead of with the rest? If she liked that name, why hadn't she said anything? Then again, maybe she knew the significance of that name, so wanted to remove it as a possibility - but if that was the case why not simply delete it or use the cross through tool as she had other names on the list? Then again, how would she even know the significance of that name, he'd never mentioned what he and Marie had planned.

David continued to ponder as he closed her laptop. He finished his lunch then picked up his phone and dialed Susan's office number. She didn't answer as it rang several times before it went to voice mail. When her salutation ended, he left an R/X-rated message for her explaining all the things he was planning on doing to her when she got home. Of course he wanted to talk to her about that name, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her a little.

MDMDMDMDMDMD

Susan walked in her office after having had a rather entertaining lunch with her brother which included a lovely game of steal "each other's food" along with a rousing contest of "who can flick Wilson's peas the furthest" for which Wilson had actually gotten thoroughly disgusted with the both of them and had left the table in a huff. Finally, Susan cleaned up the table in deference to the cleaning crew and excused herself to go back to work. House, of course, had teased her about her waddle as she started to walk away for which she returned the favor by patting him on his bald spot for good luck. All in all, it was a good lunch and David would be happy as she had managed to eat a little more than half a sandwich. Susan's anxiousness concerning her brother's fate was starting to ease as he was making more of an effort to stay open with her and with that her appetite was improving. She sat down at her desk and saw the voice message light flashing. She put the phone on speaker and hit 'play'. As the message announcement started she bent down to pick up a piece of paper that had dropped to the floor. She heard David's voice begin and she smiled. That smile was short-lived however when she abruptly lifted her head and hit it on the bottom of her desk. She reached for the receiver and picked it up with one hand and rubbed her head with the other as she looked around to see if anybody was in earshot of her office. She felt her face go flush as she listened to the rest of the message. She quickly deleted the message and hung up the receiver.

"Are you OK?" Jason asked when he walked in her office. "You look a little flush."

"I'm fine," Susan answered hoping Jason hadn't heard any of that and made a mental note to herself to not listen to voicemail on speaker phone anymore. "I'm glad you're here. I want to go over a few things with you before you take over the night supervisor role next week," she said turning her focus back to work.

MDMDMDMD

Wilson smiled to himself at the antics of his best friend and his sister as he headed back to his office. It was nice to know that after he was gone that House would have somebody. Everybody else had failed House in his life. Granted, he hadn't helped his cause any with his own behavior, but nonetheless the only people to see him through the tough times had been himself and Susan. Wilson thought to himself that even he hadn't been there for him through everything. He'd abandoned him after Amber had died and again when he'd gone to jail. Susan wouldn't, regardless of the situation. Granted, she hadn't really known him as long in his adulthood, but given her track record over the last three years, Wilson knew that she would never leave House completely alone if she had any control over the situation.

MDMDMDMDMD

House was leaned back in his chair with his feet on his desk reading a journal when Jason knocked on his door. He glanced over his glasses at young man who continued to stand in the doorway. Finally after a moment of staring and waiting House finally asked, "Are you going to come in or continue to stand there like some doofas?"

"I brought you the latest results on your patient," Jason replied handing them to House.

"And you brought them instead of uploading them because…..?" he asked as he glanced them over and then looked back at Jason.

"I think something is wrong with Susan," he said.

House took his feet off his desk and sat up, "I just had lunch with her, she was fine."

"She's flush and she was rubbing her head when I walked in her office a few minutes ago," Jason answered.

"Did you ask her if she was ok?"

"Yes, she avoided the question," Jason said.

"Meaning it wasn't any of your business," House said. "Just like it isn't now." House shooed Jason out of his office and glanced again at the lab results and he stood up from his desk. The labs told him nothing, the guy was ready to be released which meant he needed to find another excuse to stay out of prison. He walked out of his office and headed toward the basement where Susan's office was located. She was concentrating on some paperwork and subconsciously rubbing her head when he walked in. He startled her by lifting her head and looking into her eyes.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he moved from her eyes to examining the back of her head.

"Making sure you don't have a concussion," he said.

"Why would I have a concussion?" she asked.

"A little bird told me you were flush and rubbing your head," House said.

Susan rolled her eyes, "I told the little bird that I was fine," Susan said. "I just bumped my head on the bottom of my desk when I reached under to grab a paper that had dropped."

"Bumping your head doesn't make your face flush," House said.

"No, but being embarrassed does," Susan said.

House looked at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes, "Do I dare ask what you were doing under your desk that would be embarrassing?"

"I was reaching for a piece of paper that had dropped to the floor, but had also started listening to a voicemail from David …."

"On speaker phone," House finished for her.

"and I won't do that again," Susan said turning red again. "Really, I'm fine."

"Ok then," House said. He started to turn to leave.

"Are you coming over this evening for dinner?" Susan asked.

"Can't," House said. "I have to release my patient."

House left Susan staring after him wondering why releasing his patient would mean that he couldn't come over for dinner, but decided not to pursue it any further, he must have other plans. She turned back toward her desk and picked up the paper she had been working on.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Two Days Later…

House woke up and looked around. He was in a room lying on the floor on dirty carpet. As he looked to his left, he saw his most recent patient; he wasn't moving. He crawled over to him and felt his pulse. _Don't worry about him, he's dead_. House looked back around and saw a vision of Kutner….

MDMDMDMD

Susan was home. She'd spent the morning doing some light house cleaning and then went in the baby's room. It didn't really need anything done, but she was fidgety. _Nesting_, she thought to herself. _That's all it is, just nesting_. She opened the drawers of the dresser; everything was just like she had left it. There really was nothing to do in here. She walked out of the room and sat down in the living room, she sat quietly as another contraction came and went. They were getting stronger and lasting longer, but thy were still over an hour apart. She looked at the clock, there were still a couple of hours before Phillip would be home from school and David would be home from work a couple of hours after that. She tried watching the television, but there was nothing on - _typical_, she thought to herself. She glanced at the clock; five minutes had gone by. _This is ridiculous_, she thought to herself. She got up and went into the kitchen to see about fixing dinner. That was a pointless exercise, she'd already put dinner in the slow cooker and had set it to be ready when David got home. All she had to do was heat up the dinner rolls and it was way too early to do that. Sighing, she went back into the living room and lay down on the couch. She would force herself to take a nap; she was supposed to rest after all. She turned the television back on and found a stupid show about ancient aliens. There was nothing better than a nearly monotone narrator talking about something stupid for putting her to sleep. The only thing remotely interesting about this show was the hairdo of one of the main "scientific consultants" on the show. She laughed to herself, _scientific_. After several minutes Susan's eyes grew heavy and she dozed off.

MDMDMDMD

David glanced at the clock; he could leave in three more hours after his last class. He wanted to get home to Susan. She was acting rather anxious this morning which she brushed off as nesting. David sensed it was something more than that, but she wouldn't lie to him. He turned his attention back to the paper he was grading and then set it aside recalling their conversation two nights before after making good on his voice mail promise.

_What are you thinking about? Susan had asked him._

_"Our son's name," he answered._

_"So, you've come to a decision," Susan said._

_"Maybe," David said. He paused for a moment and Susan let him gather his thoughts. "I wanted to ask you something."_

_Susan waited._

_"You know Phillip is named after the grandfather that Marie was closest to growing up," he explained._

_"No, I didn't know that. I always assumed you chose a Biblical name since your name is also Biblical," Susan said._

_"No, that was just coincidental," David said. "We thought that if we ever had a second son, that we would name him after my closest grandfather."_

_"Ah, so you would like to continue that tradition, but you're feeling guilty about bringing it up because that's a tradition you started with Phillip's mother," Susan said reading between the lines._

_David sighed, "Yes." He thought for a moment or two and continued, "I looked through your list of baby names on your laptop when I was home earlier today looking for any alternatives, but I didn't see any that rang a bell in your list."_

_"I'm not happy with any of them either," Susan said._

_"You have one name away from the rest of the list, way at the bottom of the page. Why isn't it with the rest of the names?" David asked._

_Susan looked confused for a moment before it dawned on her, "Oh, I know what you are talking about."_

_She smiled to herself, "Remember the snow storm we had here while you were at that camp with Phillip?"_

_"Never forget it, I was worried sick," David answered._

_"You needn't have worried," Susan said, "but anyway. That first night after I went to bed, Greg was perusing through my laptop."_

_"He went through your personal laptop?" David asked obviously annoyed._

_"It's no big deal. We had to log into the computer system at work so he could look at some images for his patient at the time since the storm had started and we couldn't get back to the hospital. Anyway, afterwards I went on to bed and Greg still had my laptop open. I don't have any secrets on my laptop, so it's not like I care. Remember Phillip uses that laptop too for his homework. Our important stuff is on yours. Anyway, Greg found my list of names and looked through them. At the very bottom he typed that name."_

_"So that name is House's choice," David said._

_"Well, I assume it's the name he would choose if he ever had a son," Susan said. "I never asked him about it."_

_David leaned his head against the headboard and closed his eyes._

_"Are you OK?" Susan asked._

_"I'm fine," David said with some exasperation. He lowered himself and turned on his side facing away from Susan._

_Susan looked at him a bit puzzled, "What was your grandfather's name?"_

_"William," David said obviously disappointed._

_A few moments later Susan curled up behind him and put her arm around him. "I'm fine with whatever you decide," she whispered before she nodded off to sleep._

David was still disappointed and he shouldn't be. It was ridiculous that it bothered him that House's favorite name just happened to be the same name as his grandfather. He really wanted to name his son William, but there was no way that his son would have House's favorite name and also be named after House with the middle name. This was _his_ son, not House's. He glanced at the clock again and then shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to get finished so he could get home to Susan.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Susan woke up feeling very anxious. She glanced at the clock; she had only been asleep for a half hour. She got up and paced around the room. After several moments of pacing, she went to her bedroom and found her slip on sneakers since David wasn't here to help her tie her shoes. She walked back in the living room and picked up her purse and her keys. Something was wrong, she had to find Greg.

Five minutes later she pulled up to his apartment. She got out of her car and went inside the building. She knocked even though she already felt that he wasn't home. No answer of course, and the door was locked. She fished his key out of her purse and unlocked the door. It was dark inside and it smelled of old Chinese. She looked over at the coffee table and saw a couple of containers sitting there. She picked up one of the containers and smelled it - it was at least two days old and there was a clean space under the container showing that dust had settled since the container had been sat down. She sat down for a moment and thought. The last time she had seen House, was when he was leaving her office. He'd said something about releasing his patient; that was two days ago. Susan's heart started racing, now she was getting worried and the stomach pain was starting to rear its ugly head. She told herself to calm down and got up to leave.

MDMDMDMDMD

Phillip got off the bus and headed toward the house. Mom had been home all day, so he was expecting that she made some cookies or something to snack on when he walked in; she was cool that way. His diet restrictions from his condition hadn't been that hard to deal with because she did everything she could to make his meals interesting and fun to eat. Most of the kids at school turned up their noses at his vegetarian lunches, but if he could convince them to try some they were usually impressed. Several of the kids at school had asked if Susan would give the recipes to their moms to make and she always did saying that recipes were meant to be shared, not kept secret. As a result a number of the students had started eating more vegetables which made their mothers happy.

As Phillip walked closer to the house, he noticed that mom's car was not in the driveway. He walked up to the porch and found the door was locked. He pulled his key out of his backpack and went inside. The house was dark, but something did smell really good. He dropped his bag on the couch and made his way to the kitchen. There was something cooking in the slow cooker and sure enough, there was a fresh batch of cookies on the counter. He grabbed a handful of cookies and opened the refrigerator to pull out a bottle of water. He had to watch his milk intake since it had so much protein in it, so he saved his milk for cereal in the mornings. Having gotten everything he wanted, he went into the living room and turned on the television and his game system. He didn't have any homework and mom wasn't here to assign him any chores, so he selected his game and started playing. A half hour and three levels later mom still wasn't home, so he picked up the phone and called her cell. "Hi mom, you're not home," he said when she answered.

"Very observant," Susan teased.

"Funny mom, where are you?" he asked.

"I went for a drive, I'll be home later. You're twelve years old now; you can stay by yourself for a couple of hours before your dad comes home. Just don't try to cook anything and make sure your homework is done before you start playing video games," she ordered.

"I don't have any homework," he said. "When are you coming home?"

"I'm not sure yet, but don't worry I'll be there in time for dinner," she said.

Phillip hung up the phone, stared at it for a minute and then un-paused his video game. He was on level four when he paused the game again. He looked over at the phone in thought and picked it up to call his dad, "Hi dad, mom's not here."

"Have you tried to call her?" David asked.

"Yes, she said she was going for a drive and she'd be home in time for dinner," Phillip answered.

"OK then, you have your answer. You're old enough to stay by yourself for a couple of hours," David said. Phillip was quiet. "Son, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," Phillip said. "She was teasing me and everything, but she didn't sound right."

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"I don't know; she just didn't sound normal," Phillip explained. "Do you think she's getting ready to have the baby?"

"No, she would have called me if she'd started labor," David said. "I'll try to call her. Don't worry about anything."

Phillip hung up the phone feeling a little better for having told his dad.

MDMDMDMD

David punched the button to call Susan, "Hey, I hear you're out for a drive."

"Yes, I was getting antsy in the house, so I left for a while," she said specifically not mentioning what was bothering her. She didn't really know herself, so she wasn't lying. Whatever it was, it involved her brother and David was already on edge with him as it was.

"OK, well don't be out too long, Phillip seems a bit worried. I think he thinks you're getting ready to deliver," David said.

"I've had a couple of contractions today, but nothing beyond what I've been having for the last day or so," Susan said. "I'll be home before long. Love you," she said before disconnecting the call.

David hung up the phone and looked at the clock; he was running late for class. He picked up his briefcase and left his office.

MDMDMDMD

Susan continued to drive around town, not really knowing what she was looking for. She had driven by Greg's favorite bar as well as his favorite diner and didn't see his car or his motorcycle in the parking lots. She was just meandering through town and found herself getting closer to the oldest part of town where a number of old empty warehouses were located. The longer she drove, the more anxious she became. Her stomach was nearly on fire and she was starting to feel ill. She turned right and pulled over. She got out of the car and heaved until her stomach was empty. Of course that left her feeling weak and shaky so she sat down on the curb until she would feel more comfortable and could continue her drive.

MDMDMDMD

David dismissed class early, he was getting a nagging feeling that all was not well and he needed to find Susan. He tried to call her, but she didn't answer which only enhanced his feeling. He called Phillip and learned that she hadn't come home, so he called his parents and asked them if one of them could stay with Phillip until he or Susan got there. They were always glad to see their grandson, so they were happy to oblige.

David didn't know where Susan was, so he went the first place he could think of that she would be; House's apartment.

MDMDMDMD

Susan sat on the curb recovering when she realized she was smelling smoke. She stood up and looked down the street and saw an old warehouse on fire. Drawn to the building she started making her way down the street.

MDMDMDMD

Nobody was home so David got back in his car and started out. He turned on the radio and a newscaster broke through announcing an old warehouse fire in the old part of town. Not really knowing why, he started heading in that direction.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Inside the building House was laying on the floor of the first building. He'd been seeing visions of several people in his life, first Kutner then Amber, followed by Stacy and Cameron. He knew it was his subconscious talking to him. He was just about ready to give up and let himself burn to death, when he called himself a coward, so much of a coward he couldn't even admit he was a coward. "I can do better," he said and got up off the floor. He started to head toward the door, he could see Wilson and Foreman outside and in the distance he heard Susan. She was calling to him. He took another step forward.

MDMDMDMD

As Susan got closer to the burning building, she became more aware that her brother was inside. She quickened her step and started to jog as best as she could given her condition. She put her hands under her belly to support it and picked up the pace. She saw Foreman and Wilson ahead of her running toward the building. Susan hollered out, "Greg!" as she continued to run toward the building. Suddenly Wilson and Foreman stopped and she saw House through the window of the building. He was coming out; he was going to be OK. She slowed down her pace still making her way towards the building when the unthinkable happened; the building exploded. "Noooooo!," Susan exclaimed and collapsed to the ground. "Noooooo!"

MDMDMDMD

David heard the sirens and followed the sound, as he turned the corner, he saw Susan's jeep parked along the side of the road and further up the road he saw Susan sitting slumped on the ground. He drove his car to where she was and jumped out. He ran over and dropped on the ground next to her, "Susan!"

She didn't respond. She was sobbing uncontrollably. She threw herself into David's chest and continued to sob. David looked up and saw Foreman and Wilson ahead on the street staring at the building. Wilson looked to be in shock and Foreman was leading him over to the curb to sit down. "House was in the building," he explained to himself as he assessed the situation. Susan grabbed on to David harder. She'd gone silent but was still so overcome she couldn't speak and was barely breathing. Suddenly she gasped and grabbed her stomach and leaned forward. David held her through the contraction, "Come on honey, breath," he said softly to her. "It'll let up in a minute."

Whether from the stress of the situation or the running, a combination of the two or it was jusr time, the contraction was so strong that Susan's water broke. "Oh," David said when he saw her pants soak and create a wet spot on the ground, "Honey, your water's broken; we need to get you to the hospital." He stood up and picked her up off the ground and carried her to his car.

MDMDMDMDMD

At the hospital, Susan was taken to the maternity ward and stripped of her clothes and put in a hospital gown. David was worried. She was doing everything she was told, but almost trancelike. She showed no emotion and let anybody do anything to her without protest. After she was dressed, he led her over to the bed and helped her in. He got in with her and brought her back to lean against him as the contractions got stronger and more frequent. He helped her breath through the contractions and whispered softly to her in between. Finally she started responding to him and when he saw tears streaking down her face, he was actually relieved.

Her doctor came in the room and walked over to Susan, "Susan, I'm so sorry, I heard what happened." Another contraction hit and with it another bout of nausea. David grabbed the emesis tray next to him and held it for her. He rubbed her back until the contraction and the nausea subsided. The nurse took the tray from him to empty it and handed him some ice chips which he fed to her. Dr. Anderson went to the foot of the bed to examine her, "How long has she been in labor?" she asked when she finished.

"Not quite two hours," David answered.

"No way," the doctor answered. "She's almost completely dilated."

"Well she's had quite a few of those Braxton Hicks contractions lately, though they seemed rather strong to me."

"How long has that been going on?"

"Almost since we left your office a few days ago," David answered.

"I've been in labor for two days," Susan said finally speaking up.

"Two days?" David asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to worry you and I knew I was okay. They were several hours apart," Susan said leaning back against David.

"You went out alone searching for your brother while you were in labor?" David asked.

Another contraction hit and Susan turned to her side with her knees bent as she breathed through the contraction. "She obviously has a high tolerance for pain," the doctor said shaking her head. "That contraction was strong enough to have most women screaming when they haven't had an epidural."

"High pain tolerance runs in the family," Susan said. Another tear ran down her cheek and David kissed it away. "I don't want an epidural; I need to feel everything."

"I can't for the life of me understand why, but it's your choice," the doctor said. "I'll be back to check on you in an hour - or sooner if necessary."

"I need to call Phillip," David said to Susan when the doctor left. "He's probably getting worried." David fished out his phone and pressed the button to call the house. "Hey kiddo," David said.

"Did you find mom?" Phillip asked the anxiousness in his voice very apparent.

"Yes son, she's fine. We won't be coming home tonight though, we're at the hospital," David explained.

"She's having the baby?" Phillip asked.

"Yes, I need to speak with Grandpa," David said. He heard the phone shuffle. When his dad answered the phone David explained what had happened at the warehouse and that Susan was in labor. His dad offered to tell Phillip what had happened, but David asked that he keep it to himself. He would tell him later when they had all the facts. "Phillilp's going to be very upset; he really looked up to him." David listened for a moment, "Yes, it is too bad, he was quite a personality." David listened again, "OK, thanks dad." David closed the connection, "Dad said that it was too bad that William won't have known House," he said after a moment.

"William?" Susan asked quietly.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" David asked.

Susan nodded and sniffed, "he's _your_ son David."

"He's our son," David answered softly and we both like the name William.

MDMDMDMDMD

The team gathered outside the warehouse. The fire department had put out the fire and was investigating the interior looking for survivors or bodies and for a cause of the blaze.

"Maybe he was able to get out," Park said. "Sometimes people…"

"I think they're bringing the body out," Taub interrupted. The team watched as the firemen carried a body out of the building and put it on a stretcher.

MDMDMDMDMD

"Okay Susan, it's time to push," Dr. Anderson said. With David situated behind her, Susan pushed. She was strong and as Dr. Anderson had noted earlier her pain tolerance was high. She relaxed as much as she could between contractions, but she wasn't getting much of a break. They were coming fast and hard. She was covered in sweat, but she wasn't giving up. One final push and the baby was out.

David climbed out of bed and kissed his wife on the forehead before he moved to see his son. The doctor gave him the scissors and he cut the cord separating William from his mother. The nurse took the baby for his first examination and David went back to his wife while the pediatrician performed the examination. It wasn't many minutes before he was brought back to them and David held his son for the first time. He held the baby in his arms and lowered him so his mother could see him, "William Gregory James," she said as she caressed his cheek. The baby opened his eyes and looked toward his mother recognizing the voice.

Down in the basement, Foreman exited the hospital morgue, "The coroner's confirmed it's him," he said to Wilson who was sitting outside. Wilson put his head in his hands and wept.

Sometime later, Wilson came to Susan's room. David had stepped out to pick up Phillip to bring him to the hospital after he spoke with him about House. Susan had just finished nursing and looked up when Wilson walked in the door. He looked horrible; but he seemed functional, "How are you doing?" Susan asked.

"I'll be okay," Wilson answered. "How about you?"

Susan nodded, her eyes filling with tears, "I saw the explosion," Susan said. "I was behind you."

Wilson nodded, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"It was the worst moment of my life," Susan said. "I've seen death a lot in my family, but never like that." She sat for a moment, "You know, Greg was my last biological tie to my father and I spent most of my life not knowing who he was. But even for just the short time I did have him; he had a big impact on my life. If I hadn't gone searching for him, I would have missed out on some of the best times of my life and certainly among the most meaningful. He helped me grow as a person and if it hadn't been for him, I never would have met David. I will always be grateful to him for that."

"You affected him positively too," Wilson said. "He was a better man because of you. I'm sure it was your voice he was responding to when he was trying to get out of the building."

"Maybe," Susan said. "But I'd like to believe that he had already made the decision to live before that." Wilson looked at the baby, "Would you like to hold him?" Susan asked. Wilson reached down for the baby and held him in his arms. "I'd like to introduce you to William Gregory David," Susan said.

Wilson smiled at the newborn, "House would like that."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

David and Phillip walked in the room dressed up in suit and tie. Susan smiled softly at both of them, "You both look very handsome today," she said with a bittersweet note to her voice.

"We wanted to come by before we headed to the memorial service," David said. "We'll come back right after it's over."

Susan nodded, "I wish I could go with you."

"I know you do," David said, "But you need to rest before we go home tomorrow morning. You're emotionally drained and physically exhausted. House would understand."

Susan nodded as once again the tears filled her eyes. She wiped them quickly as she noticed the affect she was having on Phillip who had also started crying. She held her arms out to him and he came to her. She held him while he cried until David put his hand on his shoulder, "Come on son, we need to go."

"Would you bring William to me before you leave?" Susan asked. "He's going to be getting hungry soon." David went over the bassinet to pick up William and handed him to Susan. She smiled at him, "I love you."

"Love you too," David said. He put his arm over Phillip's shoulder and the two walked side by side out the door and down the hall toward the chapel.

William woke up as the men departed and started rooting, "You are a hungry little thing," Susan said softly as she exposed her breast to nurse. She propped him up in her arms with a pillow underneath to hold him in position. William had no issues latching on and drank hungrily. "Keep eating like that and I'll have to put you on a diet," she teased. She laid her head back against her pillow to relax. Susan grew sleepy and dozed off while William was still nursing.

A tall figure stood outside her room looking in. He saw her doze off and he entered the room quietly so as not to disturb her. He went over to her bedside and saw that the baby had finished nursing and had fallen asleep as well. He reached down to pick up the baby and with his free hand, put her gown back on place. He looked at her face, he could see the stains where her tears had run down her face, "I'm so sorry Susan," he said softly. He brushed her bangs away from her face and took the baby to the bassinet. He un-wrapped the baby and quietly examined him making sure all was well. He finished his examination and changed his diaper and started bundling him back up when he stopped for a moment. He looked over at Susan and back at her son and glanced down at the name tag on the bassinet. He smiled softly and looked back at his nephew. He finished what he was doing and then left as quietly as he entered.

An hour later Susan woke up to find the baby missing. Her heart skipped a beat until she realized he was in his bassinet. One of the nurses must have come in after she dozed off and moved him. She hadn't meant to fall asleep and admonished herself for it. She could have dropped him. She climbed out of bed and walked over. He was asleep, but she wanted to hold him so she picked him up and climbed back in bed. Susan stared at her son and thought of Laura. Laura had a small red birthmark on her right side when she was born that faded away as she got older. Susan wondered if William had the same mark. She started to unwrap him when she stopped suddenly. Wrapped loosely around William's right wrist was the friendship bracelet she had braided for Greg well over a year ago. After he had discovered it in that first letter she had written him while he was in prison, he had never taken it off. She fingered the bracelet and took it off of her son's wrist and put it on her own. She smiled to herself and then started laughing, "Somebody's been to see you baby."

She was still smiling when David and Phillip returned from the memorial service, "Well somebody's in better spirits," David said as he walked to her side. "I guess everything is okay?"

"Oh yeah," Susan said with a huge smile on her face, "Everything is just fine."

"I'm glad," David said as he bent down to kiss her.

"Kissing again!" Phillip exclaimed. "You two are always kissing!"

THE END


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